Women march to Bengaluru demanding ban on liquor
Completed 200 km padayatre
Bengaluru, Jan 30: Hundreds of women walked over 200 kms to reach the state capital Wednesday demanding a blanket ban on the sale and consumption of liquor in Karnataka.
Beginning their march from Raichur on January 19, the women under the banner of Madya Nishedha Andolana converged to the city via Peenya and gathered at the Malleswaram ground here.
The police, however, prevented them from going to the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of power.
Later, a delegation of the protesters led by theatre artist Prasanna called on Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and urged him impose prohibition.
In response, Kumaraswamy sought time to discuss the issue, a government release said.
He told the delegates that during his previous stint as chief minister in 2007-09, he had banned arrack and lottery in the state, the release added.
Kumaraswamy said he need to take his allies in the government into confidence and discuss the issue with them to arrive at a decision.
Earlier, addressing the protesters, Papamma, a women activist from Kolar said: We chose this day, the January 30, to remind the government that Mahatma Gandhi sacrificed his life for this nation. His wish was to see a liquor-free society. Its sad that the government considers liquor as a source of income and not as a social evil,
Taking a jibe at the people at the helm, Papamma said that it was surprising that the educated policymakers have no clue to the ill effects of liquor which even an illiterate person is well aware of.
Former MLA B R Patil said he wholeheartedly supported the prohibition demand.
He pointed out that he had raised this issue with the then chief minister Siddaramaiah but that no action was taken to this effect.
Speaking on the occasion, theatre artist Arundhati Nag highlighted that the Bihar government had to bow to the peoples demand for imposing ban on sale of liquor.
The Karnataka government cannot ignore this demand, she said. In a tragic incident, one of the participants Renukamma from Khairavadagi village was killed in a road accident on Monday near Bengaluru.
A Lingayat seer Swami Panditaradhya said the indifferent state government has chosen to turn a blind eye to the demand.
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
